CBS
Jon Favreau is about as accomplished as one can be in the realm of directing successful projects. No only did he help kickstart the Marvel Cinematic Universe with "Iron Man," but he's also behind several hugely successful TV shows as well. The first one that comes to mind is "The Mandalorian" in the "Star Wars" galaxy, but he also directed the pilot for "The Big Bang Theory" spin-off "Young Sheldon." If he hadn't, though, another Marvel director very well could have.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, series co-creator Steve Molaro explained that Favreau was the first choice, as Chuck Lorre was a fan. "I had a friendship with Jon Favreau, so when we were floating around who would be a great fit, I told Chuck I kind of know him," Molaro said. He further explained that it was 2016's "The Jungle Book" that really got things going.
"Chuck had just seen 'The Jungle Book' that Jon directed, and he loved it, so he said, 'Go get that guy! Call him!' I emailed Jon out of the blue and said, 'Hey, I know you're busy, but Chuck and I are working on this possible show, and we thought it would be awesome if you were interested.' He got back to me and said, 'You are correct, I'm very busy, so keep talking to other directors, but keep me in the loop because I do want to do it, and as we get closer, we'll see if this is something I might be able to carve out.'"
At the time, Favreau was also working on 2019's "The Lion King" remake, but he still managed to carve out some time to direct the "Young Sheldon" pilot.
Shawn Levy could have directed Young Sheldon if Jon Favreau wasn't available
CBS
Even though things worked out, Jon Favreau was about as busy as could be at that time and CBS, as well as the show's creative team, couldn't just pray he could find the time. So, they had a backup plan. That backup plan was Shawn Levy, director of "Real Steel," who would eventually direct Marvel's "Deadpool & Wolverine." As Steve Molaro further explained...
"So we went out to some great directors. We had a really good phone call with Shawn Levy [the executive producer/director from 'Stranger Things'], and he was terrific, and very enthusiastic. But we were also very up front that we had been talking to Jon just to not lead anybody on. Had Jon not been able to do it, we would have been thrilled and honored to have Shawn."
"Deadpool & Wolverine" became the biggest "X-Men" movie ever at the box office, proving Levy also had the goods within the MCU. But in light of his work on "Stranger Things," he also would have been a good fit for this spin-off. In the end, everything worked out quite well. It'd be tough to argue against the results.
CBS ended "Young Sheldon" after seven seasons but it enjoyed an incredibly successful run, with Iain Armitage leading the way as a young Sheldon Cooper. Favreau got things started on the right foot with that pilot episode. Levy's career certainly didn't suffer any either. He directed movies like "Free Guy" and "The Adam Project," as well as the upcoming "Star Wars: Starfighter." He's also got Marvel's "Ghost Rider" coming with Ryan Gosling in 2028.
You can stream "Young Sheldon" on Netflix.
